WOMADelaide Director Ian Scobie said the festival would feature artists with powerful social messages.

“With the combination of the fearless work of artists like Angelique Kidjo, John Butler, the wonderful voices of the Central Australian Aboriginal Women’s Choir, and Taiwu Ancient Ballads Troupe, alongside a powerful new generation of musicians, WOMADelaide 2019 is certain to be a unique and memorable sonic journey around the world,” he said.

Australian artists feature in the line-up, with John Butler Trio returning after 11 years to premiere their new album Home. The 35-strong Central Australian Aboriginal Women’s Choir will sing centuries-old German hymns in Western Arrarnta and Pitjantjatjara, the two living languages of the Northern Territory and South Australia. Adelaide’s own hip-hop star Tkay Maidza will feature for the first time, following the release of her second album and her biggest year of international touring to date.

Angelique Kidjo announced for WOMADelaide 2019.

The festival was first presented in 1992 as part of the Adelaide Festival of Arts and was a joint venture between the Adelaide Festival and the UK-based WOMAD organisation, established by Peter Gabriel in 1982.

WOMADelaide was subsequently staged as a ‘stand-alone event’ biennially from 1993 in alternate years to the then biennially staged Adelaide Festival, until shifting to an annual cycle from 2004 once again as part of the Adelaide Festival program, which has also, since 2012 moved to an annual cycle. The festival attracts more than 20,000 fans each year.

Topics

This is a Creative Commons story from The Lead South Australia, a news service providing stories about innovation in South Australia. Please feel free to use the story in any form of media. The story sources are linked in with the copy and all contacts are willing to talk further about the story.